Revision surgery for spinal deformity may involve one or more procedures to address the individual patient’s symptoms and/or progression. The patient’s overall health also guides the orthopedic surgeon’s treatment recommendations. The following are just a few of the scenarios that may be considered:

• Extension of a previous fusion proximally or distally to address degenerative changes above or below the original fusion.
• Placement of additional instrumentation; for example, as in patients with pseudarthrosis in whom the initial correction and fusion was performed using only a posterior approach (from the back). In revision surgery, an anterior approach (from the front), and placement of additional instrumentation to create a fusion on the other side of the spine can result in a successful fusion and elimination of instability in the spine.
• Osteotomies, procedures in which intentional fractures are made in the affected bone or bones to arrest progressive deformity and restore proper alignment.
• Removal (and possibly replacement) of instrumentation in patients with pain and/or infection associated with these implants.
• Irrigation and debridement – removal of infected tissue – and antibiotic therapy in the presence of infection.
• Decompression – a surgery to relieve stenosis, or “pinching” of nerves, by removing the tissue that is pressing on a nerve or nerves.